Agenda and draft minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Tom Coles, Chris Dike and Benedict Swann. Councillors Coles and Dike were represented by Councillors Mary Vallely and Russell Simpson respectively.

Councillor Madgwick declared an interest as he is a personal licence holder in the city.

RECOMMENDED that the minutes of the previous meeting held on 23 September 2024 be approved as a correct record.

The minutes of the meeting held on 23 September 2024 were agreed as a correct record.

Purpose

1.    To consider the draft statement of Licensing Policy prepared in accordance with Section 5 of the Licensing Act 2003 ("the Act") and to give approval for commencement of the consultation in relation to the draft statement.  

2.    In addition, the Licensing Committee are asked to consider the proposal to publish a Cumulative Area Assessment (CIA) in accordance with Section 5A of the Act.

RECOMMENDED that the Licensing Committee agrees, with any necessary amendments, the draft statement of licensing policy prepared in accordance with Section 5 of the Act and the Cumulative Area Assessment in accordance with Section 5A as set out in Appendix A; and instructs the Licensing Manager to undertake a process of consultation and to prepare a final draft of the policy for further consideration by the Committee by no later than end of May 2025.

Nickii Humphreys, Licensing Manager, presented the report and explained she sought the Committee's approval to undertake a formal consultation on the draft policy as required by the Licensing Act 2003. The draft statement of policy had been prepared in accordance with statutory guidance issued in accordance with section 182 of the Licensing Act 2003. The Licensing Manager advised that sections of the current policy along with references to previous guidance that were now out of date and no longer referenced within the statutory guidance had been deleted. The report highlighted the Cumulative Impact Assessment (CIA) for the Guildhall Walk area. The Licensing Act sets out how the licensing authority must determine and evidence the implementation of CIAs. The Licensing Manager advised that the consideration of the CIA has been led by data provided by the police who were present today in case of any questions about the evidence. 

Members' questions

In response to questions from the Committee, Ms Humphreys and police officers clarified the following points:

·       The policy was due for revision in 2022 but regretfully there had been other pressing licensing matters to deal with. Ms Humphreys apologised for the delay which was partly caused by the Covid pandemic and partly by work on other statutory functions which had to come first in accordance with members' wishes, for example, on taxis and private hire vehicles, and the safeguarding policy which was now in place.

·       Legislation had changed so that the policy has to be reviewed every five years rather than three; however, CIAs have to be reviewed every three years.

·       The Legal Advisor said there had been no challenges to the policy to date although in theory it could have been challenged.

·       As to why the only CIA in the city was for Guildhall Walk when Central Southsea, according to the crime data, had twice as much theft, PC Pollard explained that when defining the criteria for a CIA and assessing data, the police looked at the total volume of night-time economy (NTE) related crime. Guildhall Walk contained a greater number of licensed premises in a smaller geographical area than Central Southsea where they were more spread out as the area ran along Elm Grove and Albert Road.

·       PC Pollard said the crime data was dated from 2021 until 2023 as the police looked for complete calendar years and the most recent three-year complete calendar year period was from 2021.

·       Ms Humphreys advised that the consultation should be a minimum of six weeks so as to enable effective consultation on the proposed new policy

·       PC Pollard could only comment on NTE resources but agreed it was possible more crime might be identified in Guildhall Walk because there were more police and council resources there. He had not examined the data to see what was reported by the police or the public. Although it looked as if there was no crime in areas north of North End, when the police compiled the report they focused on areas with a high  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

Purpose

To consider the draft statement of Licensing Policy prepared in accordance with section 349 of the Gambling Act 2005 ("the Act").  This report sets out a draft policy statement upon which the Council proposes to consult.

RECOMMENDED that the Licensing Committee agrees, with any necessary amendments, the draft Gambling Act 2005 Statement of Licensing Policy as set out in Appendix A of this report and instructs the Licensing Manager to undertake a process of consultation and to prepare a final draft of the policy statement for further consideration by the Committee by no later than the end of May 2025.

Nickii Humphreys, Licensing Manager, presented the report and explained she sought the Committee's approval to go to public consultation as required by the Gambling Act 2005. The policy had to be reviewed every three years and was now out of date. The draft had been updated to reflect changes in the statutory guidance. Since the Act had been introduced in 2005 and implemented in 2007, the LA had never needed to consider an application.

There were no questions from members.

Members' comments

·       As the Cabinet Member for Community Safety, Leisure and Sport, Councillor Hunt wanted to highlight understanding of where gambling addiction could lead. 

·       With regard to the recommendation that a final draft of the policy return to the Committee for further consideration by no later than end of May 2025, members requested that this be no longer than the end of April to avoid the disruption caused by any change of membership after May's AGM.

DECISION

The Licensing Committee agreed, with any necessary amendments, the draft Gambling Act 2005 Statement of Licensing Policy as set out in Appendix A of the report, and instructed the Licensing Manager to undertake a process of consultation and to prepare a final draft of the policy statement for further consideration by the Committee by no later than the end of April 2025.